Introduction

In this chapter we will discuss the most essential part of any role playing game, the character. Characters have an essential role in role-playing games, no pun intended. Whether they are portrayed by the players or by the Game Master, they give life to the game. Like the characters in a play or a movie, they work, live, and die in front of the setting. These characters are brought to life by the actors, and like actors you must also play the role of your character. Many times an actor is given a role that can be very difficult for varied reasons, the actor is judged by how convincing, believable, and realistic the performance is. In Genesis you are asked to portray either a human or one of many alien races. At first the human may seem to be the easiest but, if you consider that this human has grown up 250 years in the future, the task of realistic portrayal becomes more difficult. In fact, it may even be more difficult than portraying an alien.

Characters in a book are described by the author. These descriptions usually include the character's physical appearance, way of thinking, and motivations. In Genesis you must also describe your character. Although the kinds of description listed above are essential, in a role-playing game there are other kinds of description which make each character unique. These other descriptions are in the form of numbers. They tell you and the other players about your character. In this chapter we will describe each of the different types of character information and what each means to you as a player. This chapter will give you a good idea of what characters do in Genesis and lead you through the steps of creating your own character. Finally, this chapter will give you the information and background necessary to portray your character realistically. You won't win any Oscars, but if you truly play the role of your character you will experience a world 250 years in the future.

The Basics

To portray a role in a play or a movie you must have a character to portray, the same is true in Genesis. In the game there are many ways to describe a character including race, physical and mental attributes, damage, occupation, education and skills, sex, age, handedness, etc. All of this information is essential to describe a character in enough detail for you to portray that character.

For character generation we have provided several ways to generate characters. If you choose the first set of rules a 'static' character with only basic information will be generated. If your choose the second set of rule's the result is a "rounded" character which will be a unique individual. These different types of characters are both useful in the game. For instance, when a GM wants to role-up a character, most times a simple outline is all that is needed. The GM would use the first set of rules to create these Non-Player Characters (NPC's). Players, however, need the detailed information, so they would use the second set of rules to create Player Characters (PC's). But, the GM might use the second set of rules to make a NPC which adventure and work with the players. Players, similarly, can use the first set of rules to make a quick character to start playing immediately, and fill out the details later. Character Generation is designed to produce both types of characters.
The rules for NPC's and quick PC's are labled (1) . The rules for PC's and detailed NPC's are labled (2).
Now we can begin to go through the process to produce a character. At first it may seem a little difficult, but, by reading both the description of how to perform each step and the example section the procedures should become clearer.

The choice is yours!
Of all of the different ways that you can describe your character the most important is his or her or it's race. There are several sentient races known in the year 2239. Depending on which race you choose, your character's attributes and skills will be affected accordingly. It is advised that you read each race description carefully before making your decision. Your choice should be based upon your ability to assume the role of the race both physically and mentally. For instance, as a desert-dwelling Eebek you would not think to turn around if you heard a noise behind you ... you would simply flip your eye-stalk. And the Vjesperé, whose great respect for life prevents them from consciously killing an opponent, would seek to incapacitate rather than kill. Would you, a Human, be able to fill the role of the race that you choose?

What makes your character unique?

Each role playing-game uses it own set of attributes and in every game they are defined differently. In Genesis attributes describe how well a character can perform basic mental or physical tasks, and are based on the physiology and structure of the race. In Genesis there are two kinds of attributes, primary and secondary. Primary attributes are quite specific while secondary attributes are more generalized and each tells you something about your character.

First - Primary Attributes

There are nine Primary Attributes and each represents a single physical or mental ability which cannot be broken down into smaller parts. The abbreviations used for attributes in Genesis and their definitions follow.

Abbreviation of Primary Attributes

• Physical Strength (PS)
• Agility (AG)
• Constitution (CO)
• Perception (PR)
• Wisdom (WS)
• Intellect (IT)
• Mental Control (MC)
• Influence (IN)
• Appearance (AP)

Definition of Primary Attributes

• (PS) - This is a measure of the characters' musculature and their ability to use it.
• (AG) - This is a measure of the quickness, reaction speed, and, the manual dexterity of characters.
• (CO) - This is a measure of the characters' bodily ability to withstand damage and to function under adverse conditions.
• (PR) - This is a measure of the characters' natural ability to notice detail that would normally go un-noticed.
• (WS) - This is a measure of the ability of characters to look ahead, draw conclusions and use their : insight.
• (IT) - This is a measure of the common sense, intelligence, understanding, learning ability and capacity of characters.
• (MC) - This is a measure of the characters' ability to focus mental energy on a specific task. Includes bio-feedback, general will-power, and concentration.
• (IN) - This is a measure of the characters' ability to sway people's opinion and motivate their actions. This also includes their natural charisma.
• (AP) - This is a measure of the physical appearance of the characters to a member of their own race.

Each race has an average for each of the attributes, and individuals vary from this average. Your character is no exception. Just like each person is unique, so too are the characters that you create. They can have some attributes which are better than average and some which are worse. To find your character's attributes follow the steps below.

At first you may think that some results are low, but as you gain performance points you may exchange them to add to your attributes. If you find some or all of your character's scores are less than desirable, and a name like Quasimoto seems appropriate, simply scrap those values and start over. Keep in mind though that generations of successive Quasimotos could mean that your expectations are too high.
Mirror, Mirror ...?
Appearance is a Primary Attribute but unlike the others it is relative to the race of the character. For example, An Aracnian who has never seen a Human before would be nauseated at the sight of one, and vice versa. After time, however, a Human and Aracnian are able to deal with each other's appearance and form lasting friendships. The result of the procedure below should be accepted as it is — face it dude, you're ugly.

Personality is affected by how a character feels they are being perceived by society. A character's ability to interact with others, their Influence, is therefore modified by their Appearance. This adjustment is performed for all beings other than Tanaians, who don't notice such trivialities.

Next — Secondary Attributes
There are three Secondary Attributes that are calculated based on Primary attributes. Secondary attributes are used less often than Primary attributes and are slightly more specialized. They represent a combination of two or more physical or mental abilities. Following are the definitions of each secondary attribute and their abbreviations.

Abbreviations of Secondary Attributes
Aim (AM)
Brawl (BR)
Move Points (MP)

Definition of Secondary Attributes
(AM) - The ability to aim weapons in a given direction and successfully hit a target.
(BR) - The ability to fight hand to hand, break hand to hand holds and, defend against hand to hand combat.
(MP) - This expresses the capacity of the character to move under adverse conditions or while encumbered.

When things get rough
On the Character Sheet, at the end of this chapter, you will see a large area of blanks with a list of body parts in the middle, this is the damage record. Each part of the body can withstand a certain amount of physical abuse before it ceases to function. The total amount damage that any part can withstand is reflected in the number of damage points that the part has. As a body part sustains damage, points are subtracted from the total. This means that, the first time a body part is knocked or damaged it won't immediately fall off, but, if it is continually damaged it might. Some races have different physical structures and body segments may be more numerous, larger, or non-existent depending on the race.

Procedure - Generating Damage Points
To calculate your character's damage points per body segment.
(1) Simply use the racial average for Damage Points listed on Table #1-5. Record these values on the character sheet, in the damage record section under 'Body Total'. These values represent only one side of the body, ie. the right side, and should be copied for the same body part on the other side.
(2) Divide the character's Constitution by the racial average constitution found on Table #1-3. Then multiply this number by the number listed beside each body part on Table #1-5 (round off). Record these values on the character sheet, in the damage record section under 'Body Total'. The values represent only one side of the body, ie. the right side, and should be copied for the same body part on the other side. The values should range between one and fifty.

What are Skills?
These are learned abilities which are very useful to a character, because they allow a character to accomplish tasks. In Genesis skill are broken into three levels of specialization, these are the General skill category, the skill itself, and the skill sub-speciality. For a more in-depth discussion of each level of skills and what each is please see the Skill Supplement at the end of this chapter.

Skills are learned from two sources, society and school. The first way that characters learn skills is from their parents and the society in which they grew up. The second way to acquire skills is to attend school, in this case the player decides which skills the character learns.

Who are you?
The culture in which characters develop determines which skills they will acquire before advanced education. Living in a culture gives your character general experience in all of the skill categories as well as aptitudes in certain skills. The general experience that characters acquire is dependent on the society as a whole, whereas the skills and their sub-specialties are learned from the characters' parents, friends, and relations. For example, Human children acquire experience in science from the world around them, but your uncle Frank taught you to play poker.

If your character was raised by foster-parents of the same race, but different from that of the character's (for example, a Faborian raised by Humans), use the parent's race to select the values. If your character is raised by two foster-parents of different races the character receives the highest of the two sets of experiences.

Procedure - Background Experience & Encultured Skills
To determine your character's Background Experience and Encultured Skills.
(1) Simply roll 2:10sd and record these values beside the appropriate experience category headings. Select, at random or by dice roll, 15 skills. Roll 3:10sd for each and record the rolls beside the skills.
(2) The character's background experiences are listed on Table #1-6. Find the row that applies to your characters race (or your parents' race) and read off the values for each experience category. Add an additional l:10sd dice roll to the values from the table and record the results in the line beside the appropriate experience category headings. From Table #1-7 find your race and record the values in the space on the character sheet beside the skill. (These values are not fixed and may be increased through IGAL).

School? Yes, school!
The Inter-Galactic Academy of Learning (IGAL), in an effort to enlighten the beings of the Foundation, offers anyone who wants to, three expense free years (156 weeks) of schooling in a vast number of accredited skill areas. Anyone from anywhere can apply, at anytime, for training - and many do! Your character is no exception. As with any school you are free to choose any skill your wish. The only limiting factor, is time. After the three free years the character must pay for each additional year. The cost of education per year is 5,000 D or 380 D per skill and one sub-specialty. If you already have the skill the cost of learning another sub-specialty in the same general field is reduced to 200 D.
You should keep in mind, however, the final occupation of your character, choose skills that will be a benefit. Etiquette may be a good course, but when you are staring at the cold metal of a pirate's sword, pleasantries won't cut it.

There are 2 steps in determining the skills your character learns from IGAL. First, select the skills and their sub-specialties. Second, find your character's aptitude in each skill and sub-specialty.

Selecting skills.

Procedure - Selecting Skills.
To select your character's Skills.
(1) Select, at random or by dice roll l:100sd, 21 skills. Do not select specialty areas unless you really want to.
(2) From Table #1-8 find your character's intellect along the left-hand side and scan across that table to the right most column, this is the approximate number of skills to select. Select the skills including languages, from Table #1-9, that you want your character to learn or increase. Also select a specialty area for each skill, listed in the Skill Descriptions supplement at the end of this chapter. Smarter characters will logically learn more in their three years than others would.

Please note you do not have to spend the entire three years at school. If you choose to have your character leave school without completing the full 3 years, the remainder of the free education will be available upon the character's return.

Skill aptitudes.
For each skill sub-specialty that the character learns the you must determine the aptitude for that skill. Having an aptitude in a sub-specialty means that the character can perform a task within that skill area to a degree of proficiency. For each skill sub-specialty learned the general skill also increases.

Procedure - Skill aptitudes.
To determine your character's Skill Aptitudes.
(1) Roll 3: 10sd for each general skill you selected and record the rolls in the space provided.
(2) Add up all of the eight primary attributes - excluding Appearance and divide by 8 - this is your Attribute average record it on your character sheet above the skill list.
For each skill sub-specialty, roll l:100sd. Consult Table #1-??. Along the top find the random roll. Along the left-hand-side find the attribute average. The result is the aptitude of the sub-specialty and should be recorded in the space provided. Now, add 10% of the aptitude of the sub-specialty to the General skill. If your characters learns more than just one specialty of a general skill, then add ld% of the result of each sub-specialty to the General Skill's aptitude. If you have taken a course previously and wish to upgrade your aptitude simply add a roll of l:10sd to the existing aptitude value. Courses may only be upgraded twice.

¿Tu Habla Español?
Do you speak Spanish? All characters begin the game knowing one of their races' native tongues and the Galactic pidgin sign language. Any other speeches, tongues, lingoes, languages or dialects that you wish your character to know must be learned either through IGAL, by studying with a person who speaks the language, or on your own. Of these three methods the fastest and most efficient is through IGAL. If a character learns a language through study with another person the aptitude depends on the teacher's Instruction Skill (See Skill Resolution). If a character learns a skill by self study, the aptitude that can be attained is 10% of the character's Intellect (this value may be increased by exchanging performance points at the normal ratio - See Performance Points Accumulation and exchange).

Procedure - linguistic Skill Aptitudes.
To determine your character's Linguistic Skill Aptitudes:
(1) Roll 3: 10sd for each language learned and record the rolls beside the skills.
(2) Average your characters Intellect with a random roll of l:100sd and the language's Simplicity. The result is the aptitude for speaking that language and is recorded in the space provided. Ability to read and write in a particular language can be found by repeating the calculation.

Please note it is unlikely that a character's aptitude in a foreign language will exceed that of their native tongue - roll again.

Need a job?
In this section you will choose the occupation of your character. By now you should have an idea of what occupation you want your character to be. Each character must be trained for at least one occupation. There are full descriptions of each of the six major occupations in the Occupation Supplement following this chapter. You should pick an occupation for your character or you can create your own occupation from the guidelines given in the Occupations supplement. While characters learn their occupation they acquire specific skills. These are Occupation skills, listed on Table #1-16. Because you are apprenticing the skills you learn are practical and while you learn you earn a small wage.

Procedure - Occupation Skill Aptitudes
To determine your character's Occupation Skill Aptitudes
(1) Roll 3:10sd for each skill and record the rolls beside the skills.
(2) Again use your Attribute average. For each skill sub-specialty, roll l:100sd. Consult Table #1-??. Along the top find the random roll. Along the left-hand-side find the attribute average. The result is the aptitude in the sub-specialty and should be recorded in the space provided.

As with IGAL skills, add 10% of the aptitude of the sub-specialty to the General skill. If your characters learns more than just one specialty of a general skill, then add 10% of the result of each sub-specialty to the General Skill's aptitude.

Xeno-Disciplines
On the whole xeno-disciplines are fairly rare in known space and for beginning characters, even more so. Xeno-disciplines are skills and they are treated in the same manner. For Xeno-disciplines however, an additional number is required for skill resolution. This extra number is the character's power points. A description of each Xeno-discipline and its sub-specialties are given in the Xeno-discipline supplement at the end of this chapter.

Procedure - Xeno-Disciplines ?
To determine if your character has Xeno-Disciplines.
(1) Roll 3:10sd
If none of the rolls are the same, your character does NOT have a Xeno-discipline.
If two of the rolls are the same, your character has the native Xeno-discipline for his or her race.
If all of the rolls are the same, you may choose the Xeno-discipline that your character knows.

Procedure - Xeno-Disciplines aptitudes
To determine your character's aptitude for Xeno-Disciplines.
All new characters have a predetermined number of Xeno-disciplinary skills. The skills are listed in the Xeno-discipline supplement at the end of the chapter.

(1) Roll 3:10sd for each skill and record the results.
(2) Average your character's Mental Control with a random roll of l:100sd for each skill and record the results in the space provided on the character sheet.

Rounding out your Character
To finish off your character, you must now record those traits which flesh out the character best. These include the gender, handedness, height, weight, age, financial holdings, weapons, equipment owned.

Procedure • Rounding your Character
To round out your Character

Gender
You probably already have a good idea by now as to which sex your characters is, but if not - decide now. Based on the information in the racial descriptions (in some cases there is only one choice) record your choice in the space provided.

Handedness or Sidedness
This is simply which side of the body| your character feels most comfortable with for moving, writing, eating, shooting, etc. It really doesn't make a difference
which you choose (right or left). Ambidexterity is rare enough not to be encountered.

Size and Mass
Find your character's height (or length, as the case may be) by consulting Table #1-??. locate your character's race find the base height and add to it the variance listed in the next column. Finally take in to account the gravity of the character's birth-world, if is was not the world the character's race evolved on. Character's from low gravity worlds tend to be tall, up to 20% taller than average. While for high gravity worlds the reverse is true. Adjust the results from Table # 1-?? by an appropriate percentage.

Find your character's weight by consulting Table #1-??. locate your character's race find the base weight and add to it the variance listed in the next column.
Finally take in to account the gravity of the character's birth-world, if is was not the world the character's race evolved on. Character's from low gravity worlds tend to be thin, up to 20% below average. While for high gravity worlds the reverse is true. Adjust the results by an appropriate percentage.

Age
To determine your character's age at the start of campaigning, simply roll on Table #1-14 and add the time spent while you were at IGAL and apprenticing (3 years for IGAL and 3 years for Apprenticeship).

Dits and Out-fitting
Everybody begins the game with little else besides their personal effects, ID, passport, Dit disk and a set of casual clothes. Characters begin the game with a varying amount of credit, depending on the occupation that they have chosen. The amount of credit that each character starts with is listed on Table #1-15.
Apprenticeship complete, characters must now purchase their own gear and supplies. Beware not to spend to much though, you still must survive until the next Dit deposit.

Personality
Finally, you as a Player should attempt to develop your characters' persona. What are their motivations? Their hopes, their aspirations and dreams, their goals and fears? Does she act erratically under pressure? Does he hate all forms of inorganic life? Are they neurotic, honest, sly, plotting, arrogant, extroverted, colourful, dark, moody, alcoholic, flamboyant, extravagant, sensuous -whatever! This kind of character development will really bring a third dimension to the gaming scenario, and will allow you to step in to the role of your characters in the play that is Genesis.
Now that you have generated characters try to imagine what they look like and who they are. Imagine the average member of the respective races, then add the attributes - what do they look like physically? Is your character broad muscled and slow to react, or thin and intellectual, or bits of both? What is their occupation and what does this tell you, and the world about their style of dress? Is it the long robe over a tight vest of a Chaendler, or a jump-suit covered with pockets to carry the tools of a Specialist. Consider the weapons and equipment carried - and the message this sends to the world - is it the look of an unarmed businesswoman or a survivalist. From this physical appearance you can grasp the essential part of your character that is needed to play the game - basics, like these, should be included in any character description. Physical appearances, and quirks are the minimum amount of information needed to keep everyone's mind on their character and focused on! (and in) the imaginary universe. However, to really get; your mind into the world you'll need more theatrical information like the way they speak, look, and walk. The wound, that almost cost him his life, those rips in her clothes, and the look in their eyes. These things give you and the other players an idea of what your character "feels" like in this imaginary universe.
Your character may not have all of the above traits but you're in luck - many of these can develop over time. So, if your character isn't fully rounded out just wait, get some experience, and the right personality will slowly build up.
If you've done a very good job then you have also included a personality along with all his or her physical characteristics - you are ready to move to the more complex traits. Deeper factors that drive the character, found in extra information on parents, childhood, the events since then. Goals and aspirations, likes and dislikes, motivations and anything else you know about your character. Facts like these build a solid and detailed base from which you can role-play. They establish who your character was, is, and wants to be. Again these are all traits that a character acquires with time - so don't worry if you don't have these at the start. When you get them they'll mix into the inventory of distinctive quirks you gave them at the start - producing a detailed character.
If your character has all of this detail, then your imagination is good enough to design you own game! You should have no problem playing the character you have created. For the others whose imaginations aren't quite as developed, let time etch the lines of personality into your creation.